I am living for that day: the mixture of sports and politics is a disaster. Sports is a fantasy to me, an escape from everyday problems. Social protests of any kind should not be a part of sports. I even hated "pink" October. Good cause, wrong venue. The twisted explanation of the "real" reasons for kneeling is absurd. Just don't do ANYTHING to distract from the game. Get rid of the flag and the anthem, whatever. Just play, entertain, thrill, and create fun. Everything else is noise. Do not go on tirades about politics in interviews, on sports programs, in public statements. Just shut up and play. The whole fantasy is being ruined.
That's exactly how I feel. I got so sick of people politics on Facebook I just quit using it. Football is even worse for me, because the politics involves protesting during the anthem, which is a sore spot for me as a 20 year vet. The broadcasters and media have made it 100 times worse, and just won't let it go. The whole escape the problems of the world and just watch a good competition has been tarnished by political agendas. Get attention, however you can, no matter who you offend, no matter if it causes hate and discontent, just spoils the party for people like me. I have to admit it is really weird not watching football or basketball now. It just feels weird. Hopefully next year things will change, but for now, it is just too much BS.
I am right there with you. I was a huge NFL fan. I have not been watching games since the "protests" began. The lone exception was the Texans. When I heard they were going to do some sort of protest, I felt sick. I didn't watch the game. I was super disappointed that DeShaun participated. I didn't think he would. Now, I am likely "out" till this blows over (so is DeShaun, the main reason I was watching). It is amazing how much free time I have now. I am getting a lot of things done. I am turned off on the NBA as well. The political rants of coaches and players are just like poison. It all kills the fantasy of sports. Interestingly, I am life-long Democrat (vintage JFK, working class), but I think the party is being lost to the lunatic fringe. Plus, the protests are based on a false narrative. Crime statistics verify that more Caucasians (even when adjusted for population stats.) are killed by police officers than any other group. Police shootings are clearly an "issue," but not a racial issue. This is all very sad and ironic.
Sports and politics has always mixed. You all just didn't know. The difference now is that it is difficult to hide. Speaking of politics, the protests were pretty much dying down until the commander in chief stirred the pot.
I'll be watching. You're really not much of a true Texans fan otherwise. It should be a fun game; and who knows... Many of us were happy at the beginning of the year when we thought Savage would be the starter.
Only person gaining anything is Savage. He’s working for his next contract. Rest of the young guys learning how to play defense. Texans win a total of 5-6 games.
A study by a Harvard professor released this month found no evidence of racial bias in police shootings even though officers were more likely to interact physically with non-whites than whites. The paper for the National Bureau of Economic Research, which examined thousands of incidents at 10 large police departments in California, Florida and Texas, concluded that police were no more likely to shoot non-whites than whites after factoring in extenuating circumstances. “On the most extreme use of force — officer-involved shootings — we find no racial differences in either the raw data or when contextual factors are taken into account,” said Harvard economics professor Roland G. Fryer Jr. in the abstract of the July 2016 paper. Mr. Fryer, who is black, told The New York Times that the finding of no racial discrimination in police shootings was “the most surprising result of my career.” At the same time, the study found blacks and Hispanics were more than 50 percent more likely to experience physical interactions with police, including touching, pushing, handcuffing, drawing a weapon, and using a baton or pepper spray. The 63-page study, “An Empirical Analysis of Racial Differences in Police Use of Force,” appears to support research conducted at Washington State University showing that officers in simulation tests were actually less likely to shoot at blacks than whites. The NFL and its players are "stumbling" over a false narrative. The whole controversy is useless, bogus, costly, and ultimately stupid. A tempest in a teapot.
#FakeNews. This is why we can't progress. There is evidence of racial bias in some police departments. I'm talking about racial slurs, proof of racists in power, falsifying evidence. America has racists, some of these racists are police officers. We need to make sure that their racism doesn't affect the system as a whole. That means when there is a case that is brought to light and justice is not served, we should make as much noise as possible to keep it from happening again. There have been numerous cases where unarmed men were shot by officers and didn't get any punishment. So the noise is getting louder. Does this mean that most cops are racists? No. Does this mean that most police departments are racist? No. But as long as the few keep getting away with it, you will be hearing a lot of protesting.
You must have an interesting definition of "fake news." This discussion should really be in D and D, but there is apparently no interest in the game between the Colts and the Texans. Have a pleasant evening.
